


Secret, The

by spookyawards_archivist



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Episode: s03e02 Paper Clip, F/M, One Shot, Romance, Season/Series 07
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-08-27
Updated: 2004-08-27
Packaged: 2019-04-27 12:55:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14425860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookyawards_archivist/pseuds/spookyawards_archivist
Summary: A woman finally has the courage to come out of hiding.





	Secret, The

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Spooky Awards](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Spooky_Awards), and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address on [SpookyAwards' collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/spookyawards/profile).

TITLE: The Secret  
AUTHOR: Erin M. Blair  
CLASSIFICATION/CATEGORY: SRA--Story, Romance, Angst CONTENT: Mulder/Scully Married. AU.   
**RATING: PG**  
DISTRIBUTION/ARCHIVE STATEMENT: OK to Gossamer, Ephemeral, After the Fact, MSR Fanfic Cheerleaders Archive. Others: OK.   
AWARD ELIGIBILITY: Spookys 2004.   
SPOILERS: Paper Clip. However, you need to know all spoilers up through Season Seven. In this story, Season Eight and Season Nine never happened.   
SETTING: Season Seven.   
DATE: Completed August 9, 2004.   
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Thanks to Jen for beta reading this fic.   
DISCLAIMER: Mulder and Scully belong to Chris Carter. SUMMARY: A woman finally has the courage to come out of hiding. 

  * This story was written for After the Fact's Paper Clip challenge. __



* * *

The Secret  
Written by: Erin M. Blair

* * *

"Hi, Mom." 

I never wanted to deceive anyone, especially my family. I didn't want to hurt anyone. My life was being threatened. 

My mother looked at my features, still the same but now older and wiser. I didn't know whether or not to embrace her. I wasn't sure how she'd react, but I had suspected she would be shocked to see me. 

"I...thought you were dead. We all did." 

And I didn't want to die. 

I valued my life too much. 

"It was a closed coffin, Mom. That's how I was able to escape," I said. "I miss everyone. I wish there was some way I could have contacted you." 

I didn't want to go into the unknown, to become someone else for the past five years, but that's how life happened. 

Now the conspirators are dead, have long since been killed. As Elissa Reynolds, I was able to make a life for myself in California. I missed being able to live my life. 

"I missed you so much," said my mother. She held me in her arms like a baby. She led me into the living room. "Your sister will be so thrilled to see you. She -- " 

"I know. Will Bill and Charlie be here?" 

"They're at sea, but they'll be here in a few weeks." 

Now I stood in the living room, waiting for my sister to arrive. When she came in, I could see her thin body shaking like a leaf. She was usually the strong one in the family, the brave one. "Hi." 

"Oh my God. Is that really you?" 

"You certainly have changed during the past few years," I told her as I noticed the ring on her finger. Her red hair had gotten a bit shorter since I last saw her. I noticed a baby in the carrier. "Is that --- ?" 

She nodded. "Yes. I've finally started to live a relatively normal life." 

"How's...?" 

"He's fine." 

"Is he the father of ..?" 

She nodded. "Yes, he is." 

"I'm so happy for the three of you." 

"Me, too. I'm so thrilled that you're alive. You don't know how much I grieved for you, for the fact that you died instead of me." 

"I know; I'm sorry for all that suffering." 

"I missed you so much. You don't know how much," she said. "How's life?" 

"It's fine. I'm living under an assumed name, Elissa Reynolds. I live in San Francisco, California. And I have a husband, Rob. We have a couple of children." 

"Elissa," she said, trying it out on her tongue. "It's so similar to..." 

"I know." 

"It's a touching tribute. How long are you going to stay?" 

"That I don't know. Hopefully for a couple of weeks. Enough time to see Bill and Charlie. Then I have to fly back home. All I wanted was to let you know that I'm OK, that I'm watching you even though I'm someone else now..." 

"I wish you were Melissa Scully." 

"Oh, I know. I wish I was too," I told her. I gave Dana a hug. "What's the baby's name?" 

"William," Dana said simply. "William Fox Mulder." 

"Good name." 

"I know. Mulder's thrilled with him. At first, I wasn't sure how he would react to the news. It wasn't that long ago that he came back to me...but he's very happy to be with us." 

"I'm glad for the three of you. I really am." 

"I know. I feel the same way, Melissa. I really do. I'm so happy that you're alive." 

"Oh, me too, Dana. I'm glad I could finally see you." My arms tighten around my sister's waist. 

I'm home; I'm finally home. 

Then my sister voiced a concern. "Are you going to back to being Melissa Scully? If so, there's a matter of getting you undead." She cracked a smile and then related: "I helped get Mulder undead, too. Long story." 

"I have all the time in the world now, Dana." 

  * the end -- 



Feedback: Much appreciated and welcomed. Send to: 

Author's Notes: 

This story was written for After the Fact's Paper Clip challenge. 

I wanted to write a story for a long time where Melissa Scully was still alive. As for Mulder and Scully, pretend that Season 8 and Season 9 never happened. :) 

I would like to thank my beta reader, Jen, for her help. 

I hope you'll enjoy this story as much as I had writing it.   
  


#### If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to Erin M. Blair


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